RAM - 8GB v 16GB

[Dunk87]

Hello, really quick question. Will 8GB of RAM be holding back performance on this game or would upgrading be negligible? I have i5 8400, GTX 1070 & 8GB RAM. I can run the game stable(enough) at around 60fps on high but with units turned down to medium - as soon as I turn them up to high things get a bit choppy. I pressumed this would be due to CPU/GPU being slightly older now and not having enough juice but I stumble across a couple of comments saying that upgrading to 16GB made a massive difference in this game!? Also one that said RAM can impact on performance relative to unit size, is this correct? If so I don't mind spending circa £65 on 16GB of new/better RAM if I can get a stable frame rate with large unit sizes. However I am planning on spending £2K+ on a high end system in next year or so to upgrade computer for 4K gaming and as such, whilst the amount is negligible to upgrade don't want to spend it if it isn't really going to make a difference. Cheers.

[Too Much Salt]

16GB is bare minimum for today's gaming pc. Some more you have a i5 and 1070, your ram is going to be a bottleneck.

Upgrade it, RAM is cheap now.

[Dunk87]

Originally posted by Too Much Salt:

16GB is bare minimum for today's gaming PC. Some more you have a i5 and 1070, your ram is going to be a bottleneck.

Upgrade it, RAM is cheap now.

Thanks for response, as I said happy to upgrade however can you be sure I will see a definite benefit from it?

[Geroiko]

You have to understand a bit what RAM does to answer the question of "how much RAM do I need". In short, it is a "short term" memory that your PC uses to read data and access them faster than it would be if your pc used the memory of your hard drive. Technically, the more RAM you have the faster your PC can perform multiple real time actions at the same time, i.e. playing game, while also having your browser open browsing something, while also your pc doing other operations in the background etc etc all at the same time. Keep note, however, that "faster" is a relative term and can't quantify it with precision.

A good way to figure out how much RAM your computer uses currently when you are running a game and doing other tasks at same time is to open the task manager (ctrl+alt+delete) and have a look at the % of memory used and which processes use that %. Whether RAM boosts performance or holds you back depends on how many processes and things run at same time and what % of memory you are using. If while playing the game you observe that the memory % utilized is still relatively low (i.e. not 100%), then obviously you don't need to upgrade. If you are actually reaching 100%, then it would be wise to upgrade as it would speed up a bit the time it takes for your pc to run all these different operations simultaneously, but that's all about it.

Your GTX 1070 and i5 processor is more than sufficient currently to run most modern games smoothly assuming you play in 1080p resolution, have configured the settings in your NVIDIA control panel appropriately and keep your drivers updated.

[Dunk87]

Originally posted by Kon:

You have to understand a bit what RAM does to answer the question of "how much RAM do I need". In short, it is a "short term" memory that your PC uses to read data and access them faster than it would be if your pc used the memory of your hard drive. Technically, the more RAM you have the faster your PC can perform multiple real time actions at the same time, i.e. playing game, while also having your browser open browsing something, while also your pc doing other operations in the background etc etc all at the same time. Keep note, however, that "faster" is a relative term and can't quantify it with precision.

A good way to figure out how much RAM your computer uses currently when you are running a game and doing other tasks at same time is to open the task manager (ctrl+alt+delete) and have a look at the % of memory used and which processes use that %. Whether RAM boosts performance or holds you back depends on how many processes and things run at same time and what % of memory you are using. If while playing the game you observe that the memory % utilized is still relatively low (i.e. not 100%), then obviously you don't need to upgrade. If you are actually reaching 100%, then it would be wise to upgrade as it would speed up a bit the time it takes for your pc to run all these different operations simultaneously, but that's all about it.

Your GTX 1070 and i5 processor is more than sufficient currently to run most modern games smoothly assuming you play in 1080p resolution, have configured the settings in your NVIDIA control panel appropriately and keep your drivers updated.

Thanks this is really helpful, I have had a look and when running the game and it is not maxing so I would assume there would be no benefit. Yeah I play 1080p. Generally okay with fps on high settings as I said but only stays stable on medium unit sizes as stated its just when I set them to large things get choppy and read it could be a RAM issue. Thought it sounded to good to be true...... any advice on Nvidia settings, the only thing I ever change is the power setting as not really sure what many of the other options do!?

[Geroiko]

An extra thing I forgot to mention is that on Task Manager you can right click on the process, press "Go to details", then right click on the process in the new detailed list again, then "set priority" and put it on "high" so that your PC treats that particular application (i.e. the game) as a more important process and allocate more resources on it. Keep drivers updated as well, that helps too.

As for the NVIDIA settings, I wouldn't like to recommend a specific preset, I'd recommend finding a youtube video of someone showcasing what each option does, so you better understand what options you are dealing with, and then follow any recommendations he may have. But one pretty important option that can make a drastic difference is whether your PC is using your CPU or your GPU to process 3D. Ideally you would want your GPU to be the go-to option unless you are doing something specialized requiring CPU. Very often after a drivers update of GPU it happens that it defaults back to CPU so you may want to have a look at that and change it. Or rather, find the application in question in the "Manage 3D settings" and set it to use GPU as primary resource. But again, I really recommend finding one of these informative youtube videos that explain what each thing does in this control panel rather than finding a guy telling you "do this and do that because it works for me".

Finally, there are things outside of your control as well because there are not many games that are well optimized to run smoothly for every machine, even if your machine is running perfectly. That is on devs end but this is why sometimes you get games that run so smoothly due to very good optimization e.g. Doom 3 and games that run poorly even on high end machines with all latest hardware.

[dulany67]

It's been a while since I checked, but using afterburner I don't believe I ever saw 3K reach 8 gig usage.

[dulany67]

I didn't want to spread misinformation, so I just went and bench marked. In battle, the game uses 9+ gig's of RAM. In campaign, it actually uses over 10 gig's.

So while it's debatable how much improvement you will see, it couldn't hurt to add RAM. And as stated above, it will give you some short term future proofing on your system.

BTW, in battles video memory never rises above 5 gig (I have 8 on the card) so perhaps it is locked at 5GB.

[Dunk87]

Originally posted by dulany67:

I didn't want to spread misinformation, so I just went and bench marked. In battle, the game uses 9+ gig's of RAM. In campaign, it actually uses over 10 gig's.

So while it's debatable how much improvement you will see, it couldn't hurt to add RAM. And as stated above, it will give you some short term future proofing on your system.

BTW, in battles video memory never rises above 5 gig (I have 8 on the card) so perhaps it is locked at 5GB.

So there actually could be a benefit then!? Might be worth a punt for £65.

[JohnPaulJones]

Hey go Max on the memory but 24 GB be perfect ..But on the CPU i use to have a intel gammer wait i still do ..But it now catching dust ,,RYZEN 3950X is the way to go . As for Video card up to u but toss the heat sink off it an go water cool on the Video card .

16 GB - 24 GB for Windows 10 pro

Linux i running Max the board can take as memory so mega cheap on aliexpress 4 x 32 GB

Windows 7 16 GB is Perfect for this game

My FPS rates sucks ..I blame that on a tech

[Powellinho.72]

Originally posted by Too Much Salt:

16GB is bare minimum for today's gaming pc. Some more you have a i5 and 1070, your ram is going to be a bottleneck.

Upgrade it, RAM is cheap now.

depends on what your playing, not every new game needs 16gbs.

[PFC Demigo [29th ID]]

Isn't having more GPU Memory more Important?

[dulany67]

Originally posted by ♋️LunarCainEX🐶:

Isn't having more GPU Memory more Important?

As far as I know, 8 gb is the most you can get on a card. When I benchmarkd, the game never uses more than 5 gb.

[PFC Demigo [29th ID]]

Originally posted by dulany67:

Originally posted by ♋️LunarCainEX🐶:

Isn't having more GPU Memory more Important?

As far as I know, 8 gb is the most you can get on a card. When I benchmarkd, the game never uses more than 5 gb.

Did you Tick the Unlimited Memory?
Also the 2080ti has 11GB and if you go SLI with 2 8GB thats 16GB.
There is also the Quadro RTX8000.... that one is 48GB..... that cost $5,500. There are other Quadro with 24GB and 16GB.
Some games can really hit the 8GB when you try to max every single settings. *Glares at FFXV and Rainbow Six Siege*

Edit: Ignore the Quadro. I just learn NVIDIA Locked those GPUs to be used Exclusive for Animators and Game Developers... Before Gamers could used it (Wonder how they manage to shell out $5000+) but NVIDIA wasn't happy when they learn about it and locked the Chip Coding for Future ones.

[dulany67]

Originally posted by ♋️LunarCainEX🐶:

Originally posted by dulany67:

As far as I know, 8 gb is the most you can get on a card. When I benchmarkd, the game never uses more than 5 gb.

Did you Tick the Unlimited Memory?
Also the 2080ti has 11GB and if you go SLI with 2 8GB thats 16GB.
There is also the Quadro RTX8000.... that one is 48GB..... that cost $5,500. There are other Quadro with 24GB and 16GB.
Some games can really hit the 8GB when you try to max every single settings. *Glares at FFXV and Rainbow Six Siege*

Edit: Ignore the Quadro. I just learn NVIDIA Locked those GPUs to be used Exclusive for Animators and Game Developers... Before Gamers could used it (Wonder how they manage to shell out $5000+) but NVIDIA wasn't happy when they learn about it and locked the Chip Coding for Future ones.

Yes, I was using unlimited memory. Good to know about the 2080ti, but not too many SLI setups out there anymore, and even fewer games that take advantage of them.

[ＳＨＡＤＯＷ２ＫＫ]

I was using a i5 8400 and a GTX 1080 when the game came out and it ran brilliantly, although had it on SSD and 16 GB Ram, but yes as other posters have already stated, get more RAM, it does help in a big way.